17.11.08
Some 46 per cent of consumers would rather use an interactive voice response system than engage in contact with a call agent they cannot understand.
This is one of the major findings of a new customer satisfaction survey published by Nuance Communications, which also revealed that 28 per cent of agents are difficult to engage with due to language barriers.
Overall, only 60 per cent of survey respondents said they were satisfied with call centre service, a finding which may encourage some firms to review their
customer contact strategy.
Nuance northern Europe, Middle East and Asia general manager Ian Turner said the research highlighted some of the frustrations consumers had with contact centres.
He added that customers usually used a call centre to perform functional tasks and would be quite happy to use technology solutions if they enable faster, more efficient service.
"It comes down to striking the right balance between using technology or an agent at the right time and the right place," Mr Turner commented.
DMG Consulting's Interactive Voice Response Trends and Market Share Report, published in November 2008, indicated that interactive voice response technology could deliver cost savings for firms which choose to invest in it.
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